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PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) – Attack helicopters and war planes pounded suspected Taliban hideouts on Thursday as Pakistan vowed a decisive victory in the deadliest fighting to grip a northwest district in months. Thousands of civilians streamed out of the Taliban stronghold and former tourist paradise of Swat on foot or crammed into cars, as aid workers warned that the humanitarian crisis was escalating in the area. ... The military said nine soldiers died in the last 24 hours in Swat, including seven killed when militants ambushed troop reinforcements at the entry to Mingora, the main town in the northwest district...

FOLLOWING THE FLOCK of other retirees to warmer climes may seem like the best way to spend one's golden years. But it may not be the smartest — especially during economic downturns. "A retiree always needs to be careful about where he or she chooses to spend retirement, but with economic conditions changing so quickly it's even more important to make a good choice," says Warren R. Bland, author of "Retire in Style: 60 Outstanding Places Across the USA and Canada." Not all places are created equal when it comes to weathering economic woes like the current real estate slump,...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 19, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed nine suspected terrorists, detained 56 others and destroyed terrorist safe havens and training grounds in Iraq over the past four days, military officials said. In Iraq today: -- Coalition forces southeast of Samarra detained two suspected terrorists, including an alleged leader of the al Qaeda in Iraq network in Jalam who is linked to kidnappings and terrorist financing. The suspect allegedly arranges meetings between senior leaders from Tigris River Valley terrorist networks. -- Troops nabbed two suspects during an operation in Mosul targeting an alleged senior leader for the al...

MIRAN SHAH, Pakistan - Government forces attacked two militant bases with helicopter gunships and artillery Tuesday in some of the army's toughest action in the lawless Afghan border region since militant attacks began surging last month. Spokesman Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad said troops targeted a pair of compounds in Daygan, a village 10 miles west of North Waziristan's main town of Miran Shah, after they received credible intelligence that militants were there. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, a key ally of the United States in its war on terror, is under rising pressure from Washington to crack down on militants in...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's military government challenged neighboring Afghanistan on Tuesday to identify the terror hideouts that Afghanistan claims exist in Pakistan, using a meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to make its argument. Rice, making back-to-back visits to the quarreling allies, could do little but smile thinly while her Pakistani counterpart, Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri, answered Afghan criticisms point by point. "Our view is that we have two good friends and two fierce fighters in the war on terror," Rice said following meetings with Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Kasuri. Musharraf became an unlikely ally of the...

Iraqi Army Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division pull security while the rest of their company conducts a cordon and search for a suspected insurgent as part of a Brigade-size raid in their area of operations. The battalion was responsible for the city of Kirkuk. Spc. Barbara Ospina • Printer-friendly version • E-mail this article • Iraqi brigade destroys terrorist hideouts near Kirkuk February 3, 2006 TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, Feb. 3, 2006) – Soldiers of 2nd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division took another step toward independent operations Wednesday, as they conducted a brigade-level...

The arrest of al Qaeda’s No. 3 man, Abu Farraj al-Libbi, in Pakistan promises to provide new information on Osama bin Laden’s life on the run and deprives the terror network of its chief operating officer, according to counterterrorism and defense officials. Officials said that if al-Libbi chooses to talk, he is in a position to dish out valuable information about al Qaeda’s current structure, funding sources and attacks in the pipeline. And most importantly, he might provide information that could rekindle leads to bin Laden that have grown cold this year. Al-Libbi is potentially the best source of information...

Thursday September 4, 11:05 PM Afghan-US offensive ends with 124 militants killed KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - A major joint Afghan-US offensive against hundreds of suspected Taliban dug into the mountains of southeast Afghanistan has finished with around 124 militants killed, Afghan officials said Thursday. Up to 1,000 Afghan soldiers supported by US troops and aircraft had been engaged for more than a week in the major operation against suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda bases in the mountains of Daychopan district of Zabul province, 300 kilometres (190 miles) southwest of Kabul. US-led coalition Special Operation Forces and 10th Mountain Division troops backed...

<p>QALAT, Afghanistan &#8212; Afghan and U.S. troops overran three suspected Taliban positions and pinned down fighters in a cave yesterday as fighting raged in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military and an Afghan commander said.</p> <p>American bombing echoed through the mountains as the troops tried to root out hundreds of Taliban holdouts who have offered fierce resistance for the past week.</p>

* US bombing continues * Taliban get 300 reinforcements * Hekmatyar’s aide held in Kabul QALAT: Afghan and US troops overran three suspected Taliban positions in the mountains of southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, while American bombing echoed through the rugged region, officials said. Afghan forces supported by US troops and aircraft have been engaged for the past week in a major operation against suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda bases in the mountains of Dai Chopan district of Zabul province, 300 kilometres southwest of Kabul. General Haji Saifullah Khan, the main Afghan commander in Dai Chopan, said US warplanes and helicopter...